


Glowing in the Dark

by ColorfulWarlock



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Hansel and Gretel Fusion, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Cannibalism (not really graphic but it's there), Dark Fairy Tale Elements, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Fairy Tale Retellings, Gore, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, M/M, Magic, Pyromania, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:36:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23456398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColorfulWarlock/pseuds/ColorfulWarlock
Summary: In front of them, there is a big house made of sweets. There is smoke spiraling from one of the chimneys and a strong smell of caramel in the air. All Lightwood siblings start to salivate, and again it’s Max the first one to break the spell. He runs towards the house and without thinking pulls a big lump from the wall made of chocolate cookies. He eats it right away and moans. Izzy and Jace soon follow, and Alec feels helpless again.OR,A dark Hansel and Gretel retelling nobody asked for.
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood & Max Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 15
Kudos: 56
Collections: Hunter's Moon Fairy Tale Retelling





	1. The witch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Krit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krit/gifts).



> Well, this is going to be hard.
> 
> For the Fairy Tale Event at the Hunter's Moon discord, I picked Hansel and Gretel. BUT, it's not going to be the fluffy 'yay sweeties, let's kill the witch' version. This is based on the 2020 movie Gretel & Hansel. So, it's kinda horror (except I'm not good at writing horror). You don't need to have watched the movie to understand this story. Just some bits are similar, and honestly? Magnus' presence here made all the difference. 
> 
> Mind the tags, PLEASE.  
> Also, this is not beta-ed, so mistakes are very possible to happen.

_Where goodness is_

_Darkness shall follow_

At the age of 21, Alec is already done.

He wants to snap. He is suffocating. He feels the kind of exhaustion that burns even his bones. His soul is broken and he doesn’t even know how or why he is still alive.

No. Actually, he knows.

The _how_ is by sheer stubbornness.

The _why_ are his siblings. 

Don’t get Alec wrong. He loves his siblings. He really does. But hell, sometimes he feels like strangling them.

Isabelle, his 17-years-old dear baby sister, is a heartbreaker. Beautiful, strong-willed, badass. Also, very addicted to a new opioid brought by foreigners from some southern island. She already had two overdoses and some violent episodes when high. However, she refuses to get better. She says she _likes_ it. Alec feels helpless.

Jace, being only 18, almost had more surnames than fingers on one hand. He was tossed around by many families until settling with the Lightwoods, and as handsome as he grew to become, misfortune always came together at the same proportion. He learned too early that to love is to destroy, and all the women he once loved, died unexpectedly. The last one, a red-haired girl from a neighbor village, was brutally killed by her own brother. Now, Jace fights depression and suicidal thoughts on a daily basis, but also is the most reckless someone can be, risking his life every day while doing something very stupid.

Finally, 8-year-old Max, who is the sweetest kid, and also has an unhealthy passion for setting things on fire. He states all the time how grown-up, capable and independent he is, perfectly able to cook and help doing house chores, but every time he ends up setting their kitchen on fire. Or the bedrooms. Or the entire house. Once, he burned their only food storage for the winter.

Alec is, honestly to God, tired.

It doesn’t help that he lost another job opportunity. He went to a big mansion at the village’s outskirts, Max following him, full of hope by the possibility of earning some coins to buy bread, just to be offered the position of the mistress’ personal servant. During the few minutes of dialogue, she made her intentions blatantly clear.

He is desperate, but not _that_ desperate.

“You could’ve at least taken a piece of cake. I smelled cake, Alec. Why didn’t you bring me any? I’m hungry.” Max whines, stomping behind his big brother to the road back to their home.

Alec huffs, pinching his nose’s bridge. It’s going to be a long day.

~*~

“Alec, we need to talk,” Maryse takes out his plate from the table, tossing carelessly into their dirty sink. The few rice grains he was trying to eat, the only meal he’s had the whole day, is now lost for good. Clearing his throat to not lose his façade, he nods and turns his attention to his mother.

“I don’t care if you had to whore yourself, but you didn’t have the right to dismiss the only job available in this God’s forsaken place.”

“I didn’t have the right? Mother, you know I can do a lot of things, but…” Alec sputters, a faint pink caressing his cheeks. “I never… On a bed… I can’t.”

Maryse narrows her eyes, but after some seconds she nods, reaching a decision.

“Very well. I want you and your siblings out of this house tonight. Five mouths to feed are too much and we don’t have enough for another week.”

“W-What?”

“I’m going back to live at the capital’s cathedral, and they don’t accept kids there.”

“We aren’t children anymore. I mean, Max is, but…”

“This is why you, as the big brother, is going to take care of him. Your father was smart and ran away with that wench before famine befell on our village. Now it’s up to you to survive by yourselves.”

“You can’t do that. Mother, we don’t have anywhere to go. Please. Mother, ple—”

“ **Now** , Alec!” Maryse almost screams, threatening to throw an axe at her own child.

Even as he feels a lot of tears pooling in his eyes, Alec doesn’t let any fall. Accepting his fate, he only nods and goes to the small bedroom he shares with his siblings to wake them up.

Without any possessions, they don’t need to wrap anything up.

They only have the moonlight to guide their way and nothing else.

~*~

It should be simple, really. They have two options, none desirable – go through the cursed forest or go through the cursed hills to arrive at another village. As ominous as it sounds, Jace and Max boldly declare that nothing scares them and that the hills are the fastest option. They even find an abandoned church, happy to have a roof to sleep under for the night.

Alec feels unsure, but indulges his brothers.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t see the inverted cross in the room.

~*~

Being almost eaten by demons was never in their plans, but as some miracle, they are saved by a lonely hunter called Luke, who kindly offers his home for the night. He feeds them and lets them take a shower.

“This place is filled with demons. The best path is through the forest. You will get at the nearest village in three days,” he explained to Alec while cutting an apple with a rusty knife. “Go straight west, never stop. The forest’s whispers are a temptation for kids like you.”

And Alec knows the reason.

_Witches._

Since he was a child, he’s heard stories. Even now, many kids and teenagers still disappear like dust in the air. The forest is dangerous, everybody knows. However, nothing was ever found.

Only whispers remain.

Magic is quiet.

Magic _kills_.

~*~

The next day, the four of them stride across the mysterious forest. With the sunlight peeking through the tall trees, it’s not too scary. The air is clear and there are no shadows. The only wild animals they encounter are squirrels and rabbits.

However, they don’t have luck with food. After a good amount of time without it, the complaints and cries start. Alec tries to ignore them, to muffle the sounds around him, but it’s almost impossible.

Izzy wants more of her drugs.

Jace wants to get laid. Again.

Max wants cake, bread, juice, meat and all the possible food he can think about.

What the hell are croissants and where did he hear about that?

Leaving his siblings for a moment, Alec almost runs back to a narrow bridge above a river they passed twenty minutes ago. Standing at the center and glaring at the river, he does the only thing reasonable.

He screams.

~*~

When he goes back to where his siblings are, he swears out loud. It seems none of them has at least one brain cell, because they decided it would be very smart to eat wild mushrooms. They know some of them can be toxic, but it seems the hunger got the best of them.

For a brief moment, he considers the relief it would bring if they really were poisoned…

He shakes his head. No. No, no. His mind can’t go there again. He loves his siblings. He has a duty to protect them. Even if the insistent whispers inside his head tell him it’s okay, they would deserve that.

Alec just wants those voices to shut up.

Giggling without reason, Izzy offers him one of the mushrooms, and he immediately scowls.

“Fuck no. I prefer to eat grass, never this shit,” He grumbles, tossing the mushroom as if it personally offended him.

Now he would have to wait until the hallucinogenic effects wear off so they can continue the journey.

~*~

“Cake! I smell cake!” Max beams, running towards a hidden path at their left.

It has been one day and a half since they were inside the forest, and nothing seems better. They survived the night, but Alec doesn’t deny the chill he felt as the hours passed by. He isn’t sure if between the nightmarish shadows of the dawn he really saw someone far away, but suddenly it felt as if they were being watched. Each crack, each blow of the wind, each breath of nature caused a new wave of panic in his body, and more than once he asked himself if he is going to be insane before reaching the village.

This is why he doesn’t have time for Max’s childish behavior.

“Max, come back here right now!” Alec hisses, following him. Even for a small child, that boy can run.

When Alec finally catches him, ready to scold the shit out of his baby brother, his jaw drops.

In front of them, there is a big house made of sweets. There is smoke spiraling from one of the chimneys and a strong smell of caramel in the air. All Lightwood siblings start to salivate, and again it’s Max the first one to break the spell. He runs towards the house and without thinking pulls a big lump from the wall made of chocolate cookies. He eats it right away and moans. Izzy and Jace soon follow, and Alec feels helpless again.

It isn’t exactly polite to _eat_ someone’s house, but… what the fuck? A house made of sweets is not normal either. He approaches one of the big windows and sees a true banquet set inside a cozy dining room. And not a single soul to eat it.

He closes his fists, gulping hard. He is so hungry…

Then, a click resonates and the front door opens.

“Why, what a wonderful surprise I’ve got here,” a beautiful woman with long black hair and maternal voice purrs, smiling sweetly to them. “If you are so hungry, just needed to knock. Come inside, my children. I’ll feed you all.”

“Who are you?” Alec asks warily.

The woman’s smile widens, and there is a strange glint in her eyes that he can’t pinpoint exactly what it means.

“My name is Lilith.”


	2. The cat

“You are too young and too pretty to have such a big scowl, don’t you think sweetheart?” Lilith smiles behind her teacup, still using a soothing, sweet voice.

Alec doesn’t want to be here. If he had his way, they would be already heading back to the path they were before. However, his treacherous siblings entered the house and now are eating like there is no tomorrow.

Well, sometimes he thinks there will be none.

But now, in front of him, there is a full table with bread, cheese, meat, pies, cakes, cinnamon rolls, chicken, pig. So much food…

“Don’t be shy, eat to your heart’s content.” Lilith presses, pushing a plate with muffins towards him.

He hesitates for ten seconds.

His stomach overpowers his brain and soon he is eating as much as his siblings.

_It’s delicious._

He doesn’t see Lilith’s smug expression, but he definitely sees the big black cat sitting on a tall cabinet, swinging his tail and glaring at the newcomers with calculated green-yellow eyes.

Alec thinks he is definitely going crazy because he can swear that the cat is narrowing his eyes and judging them.

“Is it yours?” He asks, pointing to the animal.

Lilith doesn’t spare a glance at the feline, almost as if his existence is insignificant for her.

“Yes. Treacherous little monster. Don’t mind it.” 

“What’s his name?”

She pauses for a moment, but then put up a smile that seems too forced.

“It doesn’t have one.”

The cat hisses as if it has understood and it’s offended.

“Let’s call him The Cat!” Max prompts and Lilith laughs.

“I think it’s perfect for him.”

“No, we aren’t gonna call anything. It’s not ours, and we have to go anyway,” Alec turns to Lilith and bows politely. “Thank you for the food and hospitality, but we really should go."

“Why so early? The forest is dangerous and I’m a lonely woman. And I have so much food. I could never eat all this alone, could I?”

“It would be rude to stay longer, Ms. Lilith.”

“C’mon Alec, don’t be a spoilsport,” Jace grunts and throws a chicken bone at his big brother.

“I want to stay here! It’s better than our last home,” Izzy says while reaching for another apple pie.

“Me too, me too!” Max agrees and stuffs his mouth with more cake.

Alec exhales hard. He could go alone, but he would never leave his siblings. It’s too dangerous.

“If you are worried, you can all work. Dear Isabelle can clean and sew, your brothers can deal with wood and hunts, and you can do some house chores and also help me with my services. In exchange, you will all have food and bed. Isn’t it a fair trade?” Lilith offers, smiling like their mother used to.

Alec chews his bottom lip, uncertain.

In the end, he accepts her kind offer.

~*~

Being at a big house, each of them is granted their own bedroom. Alec feels elated. His room is not spacious, but it’s pretty comfortable and _his._ He never had something that is entirely his, always having to share.

Except, not all residents agree with that.

When he is about to close his room’s door, the cat runs and gets inside.

“No. No, no, no. Get out!” He demands, but the animal absolutely doesn’t give a damn and just snuggles near his pillow. Alec considers picking it up and throwing into the hall, but gives up in the end. He lies down, giving his back to the cat.

It must be the tiredness, because he doesn’t know how he is able to drift to sleep when he can feel the weight of the cat’s eyes on his body.

He shivers.

~*~

Alec wakes up suddenly, again feeling as if someone is watching him. Looking around, The Cat is nowhere to be seen. The door is open, but he is certain he locked it before going to sleep. He is about to go close it, when someone stops at the threshold. Someone he never saw before.

All the alarms go off inside his head because that person is bleeding heavily.

He doesn’t even have time to open his mouth and ask if they are alright. The person – a girl with braided blonde hair – leaves. Without thinking twice, Alec goes after her. She pauses for a moment but then continues towards a stairwell he doesn’t remember seeing before.

Following her, he arrives at an empty room, except for a mirror.

Looking at it, Alec sees the girl there. But not only her.

A lot of boys and girls are there, eyes hollow, mouths ajar.

From them, blood drips. It’s so much, the mirror itself starts bleeding, overflowing.

Soon, the mahogany floor is filled with sticky, bright red blood. Alec can’t move, frozen, but he feels the blood running under his feet. Then, above it. A metallic taste explodes in his mouth. He also bleeds.

And chokes with his own blood.

~*~

The nightmares are constant, a new one every night, one more terrifying than the other. He hasn’t been sleeping well, and to add to his stress, his siblings are more rebellious than ever. Jace and Max keep playing with the knives and axes from a small room at the back of the house. Sometimes Izzy tags along, doing anything and everything to avoid her chores like a plague.

As for Alec, he diligently helps Lilith.

He fixes broken furniture or the roof. He cleans the floor and the shelves (this is supposed to be Izzy’s job, dammit). He measures ingredients to potions. He cuts wood and lits up the fireplace. He does a lot of things.

Except for cook.

Lilith never allows any of them to take care of the meals. Still, every day is a different, full feast. Eggs, milk, an entire pig, apples, cakes and more cakes. It’s endless.

Alec doesn’t like to eat much, but he sees his siblings gaining some pounds little by little. He should be concerned.

A dark smile curls Lilith’s lips seeing the tall boy’s internal conflict.

He isn’t.

~*~

The Cat still sleeps with him, and that night he gets bolder. As soon as Alec lays down, it licks the boy’s face.

Usually, he would feel disgusted, but honestly, he is too tired to care right now.

So, he sleeps.

~*~

That night, there aren’t missing kids, bloody corpses or taunting wicked smiles.

That night, he dreams of a man.

A truly gorgeous man.

Dark and smooth skin, flashy clothes (with trousers that definitely do wonders to his ass), a lot of necklaces and chains, rings adorning his slender fingers. His face is painted with sparkling makeup and the eyeliner highlights his golden cat-eyes.

The man is breathtaking.

“My, my, Alexander. We have finally met,” he says with a flirty tone, approaching Alec with such grace in his steps, it’s almost as if he is dancing.

“How… How do you know my name?”

“Well, it was me who called you here, after all.” He smiles, coyly swinging his shoulders side to side. “My name is Magnus Bane.”

“A-Alec,” he sputters, but soon feels like punching himself. _He already knows your name, idiot._

Magnus, however, just grins, blue sparkles dancing around his hands as a proof of his good mood. Sadly, Alec doesn’t take this too well.

“What are you?” He whispers, retreating one step. “A witch?”

“I prefer the term Warlock, it’s classier,” Magnus waves his hand, not a bit fazed by Alec’s reaction. Then, he recalls Magnus’ words.

“You called me? Why? Actually, where are we?” He turns around, taking the same empty room he has been visiting the last couple of weeks. He knows it’s a dream, but sometimes it feels too real. It feels as if he was just taken to another part of the house.

“Somewhere,” Magnus just shrugs, earning a deadpanned look from Alec. “My current predicament doesn’t let me share with you some details, but I hope you’ll find the answers soon, pretty boy.”

Alec feels his lips twitches and his cheeks burn.

“I don’t understand. I was taught that this,” he gesticulates towards Magnus’ blue magic, “is ominous. Does this mean you are going to kill me?”

“What, kill? Oh God, no. Never.” Magnus sighs dramatically and snaps his fingers, summoning two armchairs and a martini for himself. “Sit, darling. We have a lot to chat about and a lot of misconceptions to get over. Also, you aren’t entirely wrong. There is dark magic, and it’s nearer than you think.”

Alec listens, still guarded, but letting the warlock draw him in.

This becomes the beginning of new dreams.

Ones with mesmerizing cat eyes.


	3. The siblings

Darkness is sneaky. You turn on the light in hopes that it will vanish, but forget that there are still shadows.

Three months in Lilith’s – their? – home is already driving Alec to the brink of madness. He gets easily angry, he yells at his siblings, once or twice per week he feels like stabbing someone. Jace, Izzy and Max also look their worst selves, and all of them are spiraling.

They are more violent, more rebellious, more daring.

Once, Jace and Izzy sparred with real blades. Both ended up bleeding badly. Alec grounded them for one week.

The only thing keeping Alec sane is Magnus. He holds to the warlock as if he is a lifeline, his only sliver of hope and light in the dark. It’s a strange paradox, but their daily encounters inside Alec’s mind are what tether him to reality. There, they talk. They flirt. Magnus teaches Alec about magic and nature. About potions and love. About patience and kindness.

When Alec wakes up, he tries to remember Magnus’ words, but often than not Lilith’s own coaxing disturbs and distorts his mind, and he feels torn.

She says his siblings deserve punishment, but Magnus tells him that it’s not their fault and they have their own demons to fight for.

Alec is breaking inside.

~*~

One day, he fights with Izzy and says that she can leave if her addiction is so important for her.

She goes.

However, she gets lost in the middle of the forest. When she is about to wail in despair, she feels the gentle brush of fur on her leg. Looking down, she sees The Cat, who guides her back home.

The Cat also drops some yellow herbs on Alec’s lap that same day, then wiggles his tail in Izzy’s direction. Somehow, he understands and brews tea with those herbs for her.

She doesn’t ask for drugs anymore.

~*~

Jace doesn’t sleep in his room. Alec finds out the truth the hardest way: following him. In a small cabin, a bit far away from the house’s backyard, Jace makes his kingdom. Sometimes, he has company for the night. Sometimes, he is alone and drowning in his own self-worth. He repeats words as a mantra, trying to avoid looking at the small dagger on his coffee table. He looks haunted, and Alec wonders when was the last time Jace slept for a full night.

Lilith begins to offer him a cup of tea to help him sleep. She says it’s a special recipe that operates miracles.

Every night he takes a cup to the cabin.

Every night he misses the opportunity to drink it.

It needs only a brief moment of distraction and the cup will be turned over or crashed on the floor, red tea spilling everywhere.

He doesn’t understand how this happens, but also doesn’t tell anyone.

Somewhere under a tree, The Cat is licking his wet fur, grimacing at the bitter flavor of poisonous tea for humans.

~*~

As a child, Max is more difficult to deal with. The patience required is outworldly. There was a time when Alec was really good at that, but lately, the tendrils of self-control have been escaping him. Max whines all the time, is demanding. He insists that he can help with the wood and looks for an axe.

At his first try, the axe gets stuck at the bark of a tree.

He kicks chairs, asks for more sweets, burns dry leaves.

Alec snaps and almost hits him, but The Cat howls and bites his ankle, stopping what could have turned into a catastrophe. 

That night, Alec cries in Magnus’ arms.

~*~

One month later, Alec accepts Lilith’s potion to reign his emotions.

In his dreamless slumber, Magnus is nowhere to be seen.


	4. The warlock

Alec gags, throwing up the potion Lilith forced him to drink. He has waited until everyone went to sleep to force that out from his system. He misses Magnus. After realizing that he couldn’t see the warlock due to the potion, he decided to act. It works, and he doesn’t feel drowsy anymore.

He is tired. His siblings stopped talking to him one weak ago, and last night they disappeared. Lilith says they got tired of him and left by their own accord. He believes her.

It looks like he really isn’t good enough.

Maybe this is why Magnus also doesn’t visit him anymore.

The Cat meows and licks his fingers, then his face. Alec lets him.

He is really, really tired.

~*~

Opening his eyes, he’s again at the empty room. Though, it’s not empty this time. There is a big table on the center and a basket on the corner. Also, his siblings are there. They are in some kind of dazed state, bleary eyes and unmoving bodies. Alec opens his mouth to call them, but a hand covers it.

Scared, his first reaction is to elbow whoever is trying to manhandle him, but he soon recognizes the ringed hand.

_Magnus._

Finally looking at the warlock, Magnus touches his own lips with a finger, signaling to Alec to be silent. As soon as Alec acquiesces, someone else comes to view.

It’s a woman covered with ichor from head to toes. She doesn’t seem to notice his or Magnus’ presence, which is a bless. The woman goes to the basket and after a wiggle of her fingers, the basket starts to fill with blood. A lot of blood. When it’s full, she turns it onto the table, scattering the contents.

Organs and body parts.

Alec feels like throwing up again.

With another gesture with her fingers, the body parts begin to morph into something else.

Cheese, ham, chicken, muffins, pies.

Cake.

Horror splashes Alec on his face. Of course. From where all that food come from? They don’t go to a street market. They don’t raise cows or chickens. They don’t fish.

When the woman takes a muffin and bites it, her appearance changes.

It’s Lilith.

A loud ringing explodes inside Alec’s head and he passes out.

~*~

The next day, he tries to not walk on eggshells. He needs to _pretend_ nonchalance, something he is very good at. And while Lilith is outside, he takes her book of spells and looks for the potion section, desperately wanting to find out the potion she made him drink for two weeks. When he finds it, he follows the instructions to turn it into an herbal tea.

Later, Alec offers the tea to Lilith, praying to some Angel that she drinks it.

“Very clever of you,” she says after sipping the tea, a devilish smile curving her lips up. “My own potion against me. Who would have thought?”

Alec stops petting The Cat, who lays lazily on his lap, and looks up. “What?”

“Oh my sweet boy. Did you really think you would fool me? Me, the Mother of Witches?”

“I-I…” He stammers, dread filling his bones. The Cat licks his fingers, and suddenly Alec feels more resolute than ever. “You have been playing with us all this time. My siblings never left, right? You are holding them here somewhere.”

“I am,” Lilith confirms without batting an eye, still smiling. She even drinks more of the tea as if trying to prove a point.

Suddenly, a rope made of red magic circles Alec’s neck and squeezes tight, stealing his breath.

“And today, I’m finally claiming my prize.”

The rope presses harder, and the last thing Alec hears before succumbing to darkness is a cat’s cry.

~*~

Alec blinks a couple of times and finds himself at the empty room again.

This time, there are no table or basket, nor blood or body parts.

Only Magnus.

“Alexander!”

Without sparing a second more, Alec throws himself at Magnus, hugging him desperately.

“I’m scared,” he admits for the first time, the feeling of being lost overpowering all his senses.

“I know,” Magnus hugs him back, rocking them both for a moment. “But you are strong, Alexander. You tried to fight her, to fight the darkness she was forcing into you.”

Alec shakes his head.

“She won. She took my siblings, she will kill them.”

“She hasn’t won yet. She would have if you were the one who hurt your siblings, but you didn’t. You still have a chance.”

“Can you help me?” Alec steps back for a moment, but doesn’t let Magnus go. “I don’t even know if you really exist or if it’s just a flick of my imagination.”

“I could, but I’m trapped. It has been almost two centuries already. Lilith and my father were never in good terms, I got caught in the crossfire, and became her personal petty act of revenge. She trapped me to enrage my father.”

“Trapped where?”

“Here.”

Alec gapes. He doesn’t remember seeing or hearing another person in this house besides his siblings and Lilith. Again, they are talking about witchcraft, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Magnus is one of the dining room’s chair.

“Okay…” Alec cleans his throat, asking then the most obvious question. “How… How can you turn back?”

“Some things are as blurry as a whispered secret. Some things are as loud as thunderous bickering. Open your eyes for what you truly see, call my name and I shall finally be set free.”

“All warlocks are this cryptic?”

“I’m not being cryptic, I’m being coy,” Magnus purrs and winks, gently touching Alec’s face.

At the same moment, he feels his eyes closing heavily, sleepiness engulfing his mind. The last thing he remembers before slumping to darkness is Magnus’ silky voice.

_“Alexander, why the cat doesn’t have a name?”_

~*~

Waking up, Alec finds himself… in the empty room. The real one. He is tied to a chair, with real ropes biting his skin. In front of him, there is a pool of fire, and his siblings are dangerously close to its edge.

“Wonderful, you woke up at a perfect time.” Lilith whispers in his ear, almost purring. She touches his face, sliding a manicured finger through his cheek, leaving a trail of something sticky with a metallic smell.

Blood.

Alec doesn’t want to think about whose blood is that.

“Your little family was such a surprise. It’s so hard nowadays to catch a single kid wandering the forest, and look at this! I got four in just one go. Now, your siblings are going to be the main dish, and later you’ll serve as a dessert.” She claps one time, delighted. “Shall we begin?”

“No, please. Let them alone, please!” Alec uses all his strength to free himself from the ropes, but it’s in vain. They are too strong.

It’s over, it’s over.

“Meow.”

Filled by panic, Alec turns his head to the side, seeing that his feline friend is also there.

“Please…” He begs, thinking he really has gone crazy if he is now begging to a _cat_.

The Cat tilts his head and blinks to Alec.

Suddenly, all the memories from his dreams with Magnus come rushing.

One time.

_“They’re beautiful. You’re beautiful.”_

Two times.

_“I like your cat eyes. Don’t hide them from me.”_

Three times.

_“Missed my cat eyes?”_

Alec feels everything coming to a halt, as if the world left its axis and an unnerving silence deafens his ears.

That cat…

_“Alexander, why the cat doesn’t have a name?”_

“Magnus?” He whispers, uncertain. The feline straightens right away, growling, his green-yellow eyes glowing brighter. Golden.

 _Some things are as blurry as a whispered secret. Some things are as loud as thunderous bickering._ _Open your eyes for what you truly see, call my name and I shall finally be set free._

Remembering Magnus’ words, Alec feels more embolden, brave. 

His voice is no more a whisper. It is deep and dangerous and powerful as a full storm. He _sees_ for the first time. Thus, he calls.

“Magnus Bane!”

A red whirlwind circles the cat, full of dormant magic. A second later, the gorgeous warlock Alec has been dreaming the last past months come to life in all his full glory.

“Hello, darling,” Magnus winks to a bewildered Alexander, but he doesn’t have time to a more pleasurable greeting. The outburst of magic obviously called Lilith’s attention, forcing her to let go of Izzy, Max and Jace for a moment.

Bubbling with rage, she is ready to burn Magnus alive for good, but the warlock is faster. Conjuring a red lasso, he seizes Lilith and smashes her against the nearest wall. Then, without an ounce of mercy, throws her into the pool of fire.

It’s over.

~*~

“Why Alec isn’t coming with us?” Max looks desperately at his siblings.

Jace finishes preparing the horse and then helps Izzy to climb it behind Max. She also glances melancholically to her big brother.

“It was his choice, Max. We need to follow our own path now, while Alec has his. One day may we find each other again.”

“But he will be all alone in that house…”

The three of them look one last time to Alec, who seems calmer than ever, smiling softly. The Cat is on his shoulders, lazily wiggling its tail.

Then, they leave.

“Alone?” Alec echoes Max’s words. He watches the spirits of all the children and teenagers that Lilith had trapped in the house for the past century. They are free.

A moment later, the weight on his shoulders transforms into something heavier.

Instead of paws, there are hands.

Instead of nothingness, there is a solid and warm body snuggling him, blue sparkles dancing around them both.

This time, in flesh. For real.

Magnus is also free from Lilith’s curse.

Alec smiles.

No, he definitely isn’t going to be alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have twitter, but you can always come to talk to me on [Tumblr](https://thelightofthebane.tumblr.com/)!


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